Regulating rail freight

- Fair access and treatment

- The freight market

- Enhancements

- Performance

- Track access

  - Casework
  - Access rights
  - European rules

- Discussion The freight market

- **Freight Rail Usage**

  - **Freight lifted** fell to 18.8 million tonnes in 2016-17 Q1, a decrease of 15.3%. The amount of **coal lifted** was 2.7 million tonnes, a decrease of 52.1%.
  - **Freight delay** in 2016-17 Q1 fell to 9.7 minutes per 100 train kilometres, a reduction of 6.1% compared to 2015-16 Q1.
  - Total **freight train kilometres** was 8.37 million kilometres, a decrease of 0.6 million kilometres (-6.%) compared to 2015-16 Q1.
  - [http://orr.gov.uk/\_\_data/assets/pdf_file/0015/22902/freight-rail-usage-2016-17-quarter-1.pdf](http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/22902/freight-rail-usage-2016-17-quarter-1.pdf)

- **Coal in decline**

- **Still a busy network with competing demands**

- **New markets opening up** eg parcels, urban centres

- **Competition role** eg FL undertakings Enhancements

■ Funded enhancements – Government sets publicly funded enhancement priorities - recent Hendy review. SFN £235M. – Governance of the fund works well through SFN steering group to identify schemes – Example bigger passing loops to enable longer more efficient trains – Felixstowe branch enhancements – an example where NR is working better with FOCs to report progress and decide best option to improve capacity – BUT NR’s project delivery performance needs to be better

■ Private investment – Ports and freight terminals – New/recycled rolling stock

■ DfT freight strategy – Commitment to freight, looking to unlock potential,

■ NR freight study Freight performance

- ORR holds NR to account

  - PR13 and licence condition

- Freight delivery metric for CP5 is 92.5%

  - 15 minutes of scheduled arrival time
  - NR met this in all but one period but some specific issues
  - NR also measures lateness for departures and arrivals
  - Balance filling train vs leaving on time.....effect on performance
  - Industry working together to improve performance – lateness can have big impact on freight operators

- Network capability

  - NR funded to maintain published capability [line speed, gauge etc]
  - Freight reasonable expectation to go anywhere on network so expect NR to maintain all of the network
  - Holding NR to account - Freight performance improvement steering group; The Freight Attribution Delivery Group; The Network Capability Steering Group

- Possessions

  - Managing over-runs & minimising disruption (PDI-f measure 0.73 exit of CP5) Access and Licensing- casework

- Framework agreements

  - New TACs: ‘big 5’ TACs run to 2026, provides certainty
  - We decided between several passenger proposals for ECML but in doing so made sure freight needs considered
  - Streamlining general approval and updating guidance
  - Freight customer TACs available

- Facility Access

  - ORR approval needed for access agreements, if not exempted (s17 and s18)
  - Updating General Approval and new guidance
  - Appeals

- Connection contracts

  - Updated guidance & updating connection contracts

- Licensing and licence exemptions

- NR land disposals Access rights issues

- Timetabling and flexibility of rights to make better use of network

  - Windows instead of ‘levels’

- Surrender of unused access rights,

  - 4,400 paths surrendered with 20% returned to strategic capacity

- Strategic capacity

  - Freight has to be reactive to customers’ needs
  - Strategic Capacity Statement: new QJ virtual paths, flexing, working with TOCs, code of practice – explaining timetabling decisions
  - DfT/FOC working group

- Track access options

- Improving procedures – following up industry workshop

- Rail freight industry code of practice – industry solutions New European access rules

- **Service Providers**

  - The Railways (Access, Management and Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations 2016
    - Information about facilities
      - Access
      - Charges
      - Information on website or via Network Statement
    - ORR is appeals body
    - New ORR guidance

- **Implementing Acts** – service facilities, timetabling, framework agreements – opening up market

- **Fourth Railway Package** – “the final step…”

- **European freight corridor**

- **European train control system**